By January 2026, “cumulative erosion” will begin to characterize Iran’s Islamic Republic, defying the classical rhythms of reform and repression. Though the Rial’s collapse ignited the protest movement within Tehran’s Grand Bazaar, this nationwide mass revolt is characteristic of a crisis encompassing financial bankruptcy, ecological “Day Zero” projections, and a generational shift that has rendered its ideological scaffolding irrelevant. The generative power of “horizonless” The horizonless generation of Gen Z. leads the current wave of mobilization. Unlike the 2009 Green Wave, which aimed to enhance the Republican character of the state, or the 2022 “Woman, Life, Freedom” movement, which aimed to uproot cultural pillars, the current 2026 mutiny has a brutal, matter-of-fact pragmatism. For a generation in which 90% of […]